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Division Spotlight
Robotics & Remote Systems
The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
Meeting Spotlight
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Latest News
Vogtle-3 shuts down for valve issue
One of the new Vogtle units in Georgia was shut down unexpectedly on Monday last week for a valve issue that has since been investigated and repaired. According to multiple local news outlets, Georgia Power reported on July 17 that Unit 3 was back in service.
Southern Company spokesperson Jacob Hawkins confirmed that Vogtle-3 went off line at 9:25 p.m. local time on July 8 “due to lowering water levels in the steam generators caused by a valve issue on one of the three main feedwater pumps.”
Serkan Yilmaz, Kostadin Ivanov, Samuel Levine, Moussa Mahgerefteh
Nuclear Technology | Volume 151 | Number 1 | July 2005 | Pages 86-95
Technical Paper | Advances in Nuclear Fuel Management - Light Water Reactor Reloading Optimization | doi.org/10.13182/NT05-A3634
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The principal focus of this work is on developing a practical tool for designing the minimum amount of burnable poisons (BPs) for a pressurized water reactor using a typical Three Mile Island Unit 1 2-yr cycle as the reference design. The results of this study are to be applied to future reload designs. A new method, the Modified Power Shape Forced Diffusion (MPSFD) method, is presented that initially computes the BP cross section to force the power distribution into a desired shape. The method employs a simple formula that expresses the BP cross section as a function of the difference between the calculated radial power distributions (RPDs) and the limit set for the maximum RPD. This method places BPs into all fresh fuel assemblies (FAs) having an RPD greater than the limit. The MPSFD method then reduces the BP content by reducing the BPs in fresh FAs with the lowest RPDs. Finally, the minimum BP content is attained via a heuristic fine-tuning procedure.This new BP design program has been automated by incorporating the new MPSFD method in conjunction with the heuristic fine-tuning program. The program has automatically produced excellent results for the reference core, and has the potential to reduce fuel costs and save manpower.